(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an apparatus used on a lift gate platform of a truck to extend the effective length of the lift gate platform. Typically, a lift gate such as the one described herein, is used on a truck to facilitate rear unloading/loading of the truck. The lift gate serves as a platform or an elevator which moves vertically from the bed surface of the truck to the ground level so that objects can be safely unloaded from the truck bed surface to the ground without the use of ramps or xe2x80x9cwalk-downsxe2x80x9d. The invention described herein extends the effective length of the lift gate to allow items having a length greater than the length dimension of the lift gate platform to be unloaded from the rear of the truck using the existing lift gate platform of the truck.
(2) Description of the Related Art
It is well-known that trucks having a rear cargo bed surface are useful in a variety of applications for moving objects from place to place and for storing objects. The challenge lies in providing a effective means for loading and unloading objects from the bed surface.
Commonly, pickup trucks have an exposed rear bed with a tailgate at the end of the bed which may be pivoted to a raised position to enclose the bed or to a lowered position to facilitate unloading of the bed. Most pickup trucks generally function in a wide variety of applications and manufacturers of pickup trucks generally design the trucks for a wide spectrum of buyers having different needs. Accordingly, most pickup trucks are not provided with a lift mechanism to allow objects to be raised from the ground level to the cargo bed. As the bed is stationary relative to the ground level, ramps are typically positioned on the end of the bed or tailgate to move objects to and from the bed.
Another type of truck which has been specifically designed for transporting and unloading freight is a moving van. The typical moving van has a bed which is fully enclosed and includes a rear door. In some designs of moving vans, the van may be provided with doors on its sides, in addition to the rear doors, to allow side access to the bed. Typically, ramps or xe2x80x9cwalk-downsxe2x80x9d are provided at these access points to allow the movers to move the objects to and from the bed. In some designs of moving vans, a lift gate is provided at the rear of the van which may be used instead of the ramps to move objects to and from the bed.
Typically, a lift gate comprises a platform that pivots between a raised position where the lift gate platform has a vertical orientation and is positioned adjacent the rear doors of the truck, and a lowered position where the lift gate extends horizontally from the rear of the truck. Once in the lowered position, the lift gate platform may be raised and lowered vertically between the ground level and the bed surface of the truck like an elevator to facilitate rear unloading/loading of the moving truck. When the lift gate platform is no longer needed, it may be moved to the uppermost vertical position and pivoted to the vertically oriented position against the rear doors of the truck for storage. Typically, the lift gate is operatively connected to a hydraulic system which commonly includes hydraulic rams positioned on opposite sides of the rear doors.
The typical lift gate platform has a width dimension which extends across the rear of the truck and a length dimension which is usually constrained by the operational characteristics of the lift (hydraulic) system used to raise and lower the lift gate platform, and for this reason, a typical lift gate platform has a relatively xe2x80x9cshortxe2x80x9d length in relation to its width. Conventional lift gate platforms used on moving vans are well suited for raising and lowering small and compact objects because these objects typically fit within the length and width size constraints of the lift gate platform. For objects having a length which exceeds that of the lift gate platform, ramps or walk-downs are commonly used to move the objects to and from the bed.
When using ramps, care must be used to ensure the objects are moved slowly and safely. Typically, moving objects up and down the ramps and xe2x80x9cwalk-downsxe2x80x9d requires a significant amount of manual labor. Even when the objects have wheels or are placed on dollies, a significant amount of care must be used to ensure the objects are not damaged as they are rolled to and from the bed, and this tends to increase the overall cost of loading and unloading objects and therefore the overall costs of transportation of the objects. Additionally, the use of walk-downs and ramps also increases the risk of a safety mishap or damage to the object being moved. This is especially true where the objects being unloaded or loaded have a substantial weight.
Therefore, what is needed is a method and apparatus for safely moving relatively xe2x80x9clongxe2x80x9d objects from a truck bed without the use of walk-downs or ramps and by using the existing lift gate equipment installed on the truck. Such a method and apparatus would reduce the labor costs involved in moving objects, thereby reducing the overall cost of transportation of the objects. Additionally, such a method and apparatus would lower the risk of injury to movers unloading or loading a truck and also reduce the risk of damage to the objects being unloaded and loaded.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a method and apparatus for enlarging the size dimensions of a truck lift gate platform to enable unloading and loading objects from a truck bed surface using less manual labor and also lowering the risk of injury to the movers and damage to the objects being moved. The present invention utilizes existing lift gate equipment on the truck to safely and efficiently move objects having a length greater than that of the lift gate platform without permanently altering the lift gate or interfering with its normal operation. Thus, the present invention provides versatility and flexibility to allow use of the lift gate as it would normally be used to load and unload small and compact items from the truck, and with the apparatus and method of the invention disclosed herein, to use the lift gate to allow the loading and unloading of lengthy objects when needed.
In one aspect of the invention, an extension is provided for the lift gate of a truck. In a preferred embodiment of the invention the extension is one of a pair of like extensions. The truck has a bed surface for supporting and transporting objects and the lift gate has a platform adapted to support the objects as the lift gate is moved vertically between the raised and lowered positions relative to the truck bed. The extension comprises an elongate member having a length with an attachment portion at one end of the length and a distal end at an opposite end of the length. The attachment portion is configured to allow the extension to be solely supported from the lift gate when the extension is removably attached to the lift gate with the attachment portion. The elongate member length is greater than that of the lift gate platform such that the elongate member extends beyond the lift gate platform to its distal end when the extension is removably attached to the lift gate.
In this way, the extension may be attached to the lift gate to extend the effective length of the lift gate platform while allowing the lift gate to be operated as it normally would be operated. When the extension is no longer needed, it may be easily manually removed from the lift gate platform and stored in the truck, thereby allowing the lift gate to be pivoted to its vertically oriented position for storage, or returned to a normal condition as may be needed for raising/lowering small and compact items.
Preferably, the elongate member overlaps with the lift gate platform when the extension is removably attached to the lift gate. Additionally, the extension may be provided with a wheel stop which is pivotally attached to the elongate member distal end opposite of the attachment portion. Preferably, the wheel stop moves between an up position to prevent objects from rolling off the end of the elongate member and a down position to form a ramp to allow objects to be rolled from the distal end of the elongate member to a ground level. Preferably, the elongate member and the attachment portion are of a monolithic construction. Additionally, the extension preferably attaches to a proximal edge of the lift gate platform adjacent the truck bed when the extension is removably attached to the lift gate.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided. The method comprises increasing the size of a lift gate platform for a truck having a bed for supporting and transporting objects and a lift gate adjacent the truck bed. The lift gate platform supports objects as they are moved vertically between raised and lowered positions of the platform relative to the bed. The method further comprises providing an extension comprising an elongate member provided with a length between an attachment portion at one end of its length and a distal end at an opposite end of its length that is greater in size than the lift gate platform. The method further comprises arranging the elongate member to overlap with the lift gate platform and engaging the attachment portion with a portion of the lift gate in a manner such that the extension is solely supported by the lift gate and extends beyond the lift gate platform to its cantilevered distal end.
In another aspect of the present invention a combination of a lift gate for a truck and an extension for the lift gate is provided. The lift gate of the truck has a bed for supporting objects and a platform that is adapted to support objects as the objects are moved between raised and lowered positions of the platform relative to the truck bed. The lift gate platform has a proximal edge closest to the truck bed and an opposite distal edge. The extension comprises a straight elongate member with opposite first and second ends and a length between the ends. The elongate member first end has an attachment portion that is removably attachable to the lift gate without the use of separate fasteners. The elongate member overlaps the lift gate platform and has its length sized such that the elongate member second end extends beyond the lift gate platform distal end in a cantilever manner, thereby extending an effective length of the lift gate platform.
As will be seen from the description that follows, the extension of the present invention allows for the effective use of the lift gate for relatively long objects so as to reduce the amount of manual labor that is needed to load and unload such objects and to reduce the risk of injury to the movers or damage to the objects being moved. Further objects and features of the invention are revealed in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment of the invention and in the drawing figures.